MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Moldova’s autonomous region of Gagauzia anticipates that Russia will assist in securing the release of its leader Evghenia Gutsul, who was taken into custody by the Moldovan authorities, Ilya Uzun, deputy chairman of Gagauzia’s Executive Committee (government), said.
"Today, there is no hope for justice in Moldova. <...> Evghenia Gutsul appealed to the Russian Federation and personally to Russian President Vladimir Putin through her lawyers. <...> We rely on Russia’s international expertise and the respect that it enjoys, and hope that Russia's voice will be heard at the OSCE, the United Nations, and all other international institutions. We hope that Russia will assist us, and our bashkan (the autonomous region’s leader - TASS) will be released," he told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
Gutsul was detained at Chisinau’s airport last week. She is charged with irregularities regarding the financing of her election campaign in 2023. In addition, legal proceedings have been ongoing since last year, relating to irregularities in the financing of the Shor opposition party, which the Moldovan authorities declared illegitimate and dissolved. All opposition parties in Moldova’s parliament condemned Gutsul’s arrest. Later, she handed a message over to Putin through her lawyers, urging him to use the entire range of diplomatic, political, and legal mechanisms and apply pressure on the Moldovan authorities to free her as soon as possible.